Sigma Planning Corp Lowers Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Sigma Planning Corp reduced its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 46.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,474 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,351 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,803,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,058,414 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in General Mills by 105.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,552,000 after buying an additional 2,926,232 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in General Mills by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,502,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,474,177,000 after buying an additional 2,867,678 shares during the last quarter. Nepsis Inc. grew its position in General Mills by 3,504.8% in the 4th quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 2,164,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,023,000 after buying an additional 2,104,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in General Mills by 6,114.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 450,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,266,000 after buying an additional 443,202 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

General Mills stock opened at $61.02 on Monday. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.15 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.10.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho decreased their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Company Profile

General Mills, Inc manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates through four segments: North America Retail; International; Pet; and North America Foodservice. It offers grain, ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and savory snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, unbaked and fully baked frozen dough products, frozen hot snacks, ethnic meals, side dish mixes, frozen breakfast and entrees, nutrition bars, and frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.